My Cycle

I am standing near the main gate of our small house and making invisible drawings on the wall with my fingers as I watch my friends riding their beautiful bicycles in our lane. I close my eyes for a second and imagine myself riding my own bicycle.

One day I believe that I will have my own cycle and I will be the happiest person of the world. I can bear no longer watching other people enjoying and go inside. I go to my mother and tell her that I will work hard and earn a lot of money and will buy a very beautiful bicycle for me. My mother laughs at me and shakes her head and tells me that if you will earn a lot of money, then you would not want to buy a bicycle, you would want to buy a motor car. I am not convinced by her comment and think that if I want to ride a bicycle, why I would buy a car.

I have got a small wooden box. It has got so many coins. I know, one day when this box would be full with more coins, then, I will be able to get my bicycle. I go to my baba and ask him, how much coins would be needed to be filled in the box to get a bicycle. He also laughs away and says for bicycle I would not need coins but I would need notes. I roll my eyes in surprise and reply him saying that my box would not fill with notes, they take less space. He replies back saying notes carry more worth. I am puzzled. Things that take less space carry more worth?

We have a small house with two rooms and a small yard. In the yard, we park my baba’s cycle with three tyres. We call it a cycle rickshaw. Maybe when I will grow up and I do not get my own cycle, I can ride this rickshaw. But I am scared of saying this to anyone. I said it once to my mother and she slapped me. I cried a lot. Girls do not ride rickshaw, they sit on the backseat. Baba sometimes tells us stories of people who sit on his rickshaw. If I have my own cycle I will not want it to share with so many people. I do not understand why Baba lets so many different people sit on his rickshaw. But when I say this, he again laughs and says different people sit on his rickshaw; that is how I get those coins to fill my small wooden box.

I am looking at this box in my hand and picturing those faceless people who sit on Baba’s rickshaw. I blink and the image changes. I silently wish that someday I will have this box filled with coins and then I will ride my cycle and will be the happiest person.

HI
Thank you for visiting my blog, and may I add my congratulations on your two awards. I love the Candle Lighter award.
I enjoyed your post. What a nice change to read about Rickshaws and a cycle with 3 wheels. I really love your line:
“I am not convinced by her comment and think that if I want to ride a bicycle, why I would buy a car.”

Thank you so much Rosie. This is the outlook of a small innocent girl. Children have their own world and they do not understand the rules and regulations of our society. They just do what they like and do not have to defer anything because of society’s sake.